1 st night with zx-5 Sp
 

Well I built my Zx-5 friday night and took to the races on saturday.Setup was stock. With Novak 6.5 and orion lipo. Car was pretty good a little loose in the back. but I have to so far it is a great car. I went 1 and 2. and mains got rained out. So now I will stasrt making changes to the setup so we dont have ony more of those 2 cant have have that. But iI have to say the car was strong all night long. cant wait for next weakened.:thumbsup:

Glad your enjoying the car, they are great to drive aren't they!!!!!

With the rear end I'd suggest removing the rear roll bar, stiffening the rear springs and if you get to much roll moving the inboard end of the link to the middle hole (if you need a little less than that put 1mm extra under outboard ball stud).

My experience says don't lock the rear down to much as the car works best slightly loose.

Keep us posted.

I'm looking forward to receiving my kit.
I intended to buy a Durga first, but could'nt argue with the Lazer's price advantage for similar features when buying the stuff in the EC...
I wonder if I will still want to drop the car in favour of a CAT SX next year...

right now the back of the car is very loose. have to lock it down some. just to keep under controll. I was also going to run the duranga just because i owned the 501x. But i do have to say that the sp is just as good at driving.dont know about the duranga havent drove one. but the sp so far has been a great car. just needs alittle bit to get it over the edge.:thumbsup:

Guys I was going to buy a Durga as well just because the SP is not available in Italy yet...but hopefully internet solved my problem as I just received my new SP from UK!!!:thumbsup:
I really look forward to assemble it and get it ready to run!!!!

Massivly off topic
 

Hey Berna,

why is that nobody on Bay-bay wants to ship to Italy ?

Just curious...

I noticed that also - I think its something about Italy having new import rules where everything is held for a long-long time in customs. And if it's held in customs for a long time then people (seller and buyer) both get worried and start accusing one another? I guess....

Berna, what sort of surfaces do you normally run on? Might help in finding a set-up for you!!!

The SPs are currently not available in Germany either. Benracing solved that problem for me, hehe...
The built was very nice, no problems at all with the hex screws. The only thing I could think of that Kyosho could/should improve is to package the parts according to building step instead of their current procedure. To move back and fro in the manual just to check where part xy is located can be a little annoying, especially as there are no pictures of certain part trees...
Aside from that, very nice kit and easy to build. My first Kyosho ever, probably not my last! Compared to Yokomo and Xray, there is no need to hide. The shocks are among the very best I ever built, even compared to the superb Tamiya TRF TC shocks...
The biggest surprise wasa the complete absence of free-play in the suspension, very smooth; yes, even better than my "late" Xray.
Verdict: :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

I cannot await to drive it the first time (powered by a 27 Turn Stock motor for the time being, hardly a challenge for the car :blush:)

Mes, just wait till you get it too the track!

Talking of which what sort of surface and layout are you running on? If you let us know we'll fire a set-up over that may well work as a starting point.

If your car is box stock then I'd strongly recomend that you change the turnbuckles for titanium ones. The ONLY breakage I have suffered in normal running was a rear hub that had a bearing retainer punched out due to a bending steel turnbuckle (the 2 other items I have broken were due to a car crashing on a fast straight in front of my car .... nothing would have survived that).

This car is now VERY strong, certainly stronger than american competition in my experience. Kyosho have done a great job on selecting the latest plastics!!!

It's correct: recently italan custom is controlling everithing thac comes from outside Europe and as usual things at the customs takes ages to be done!!:mad:
This is a very big waste of time: when you buy something you'd like to receive it asap and if it needs 1 or 2 monthes than people start complaining...:bored:
It's different if shipping is via UPS or FedEx: they have their own custom and are very fast!!! But they are more expensive than traditional shipment so if you buy cheap stuff it's not worth it to use them.

It's much safer to buy from European countries than because there is no custom control!
I usually find things in Germany or UK: germany for me it's cheaper, but I don't speack german so sometimes it's hard to comunicate or to know exactly what you're going to buy is exactly what you're looking for...:confused:

Most of the times I run on a track nearby my home wich is mold surfare:)

I just finished assembling the car parts yesterday night and totally agree with Mes!

@RogerM: Yes, my car is currently box stock. Most tracks in Germany are clay, alas not the nice and smooth blue groove tracks, but rather the "real off road stuff"; in other words: the typical Holeshot or IFMAR Stud tracks.

@berna 1974: as long as you do not order each and every day, feel free to contact me for German/English translations; it's my job, you know;).

Mes, thanx a lot for your support!:)

Big Fat Grin...
Today I had my first try on the transmitter, I just have to say the car is fantastic!
No damage apart from my 27 turn motor (defective armature/winding), and I bent steel turnbuckle, which I managed to straighten again.
From time to time I had some issues with sand on the main gear and/or pinion, but nothing too bad.
Of course, I had to tighten the diffs after running the first three 4200 packs.
Read more on
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_m...3226&cid=73978

And: I don't see any need to upgrade to a CAT SX next year. I'm very much impressed with the box stock car! Even the stock set-up works very well for me...

1st off-road race
 

To make it short: I did not win my first off-road race, I was the worst driver, I had the slowest motor... I only broke 1 hub carrier and 1 steering lever in a very bad landing on the inner side of a u-turn (motorbike tyre). The car took very much abuse without even flinching. Thanks to a fellow Kyosho driver (Thanks again, Ingo!) I was able to continue, and finished 11th out of 13 in a very tough, but relaxed competition. I actually finished last of the survivors - The Lazer is much more resilient than the JConcepts (and Associated? I don't remember the other failing car).

Congratulations to supergreg, who finished second with the oldschool ZX-5 (I bet with my SP he would have won:thumbsup:)

I took my SP out on it's first run Saturday night, and I too broke the hub and carrier (on landing from a jump). I wonder if it is a weak point, as every shop worldwide seems to be out of these parts. (LA254)
Otherwise it was my first foray back into RC cars since 1989 and I was very pleased with the handling of the machine. Almost seemed to have too much traction though.
I was also having cogging issues with my brushless setup.

I doubt that it is really a weak point, I had some quite tough impacts every time I drove the car so far, and until Sunday, nothing broke at all.
Kyosho Germany has not yet listed any of the special SP parts online. However, I got one of these LA254 packages on the track. Only today the SP kit was marked as "available" on the homepage, originally it was due for week 36... I bet the rareness of parts is due to the long times to ship the parts -well- by ship.

I'm not sure about that, but thanks for the accolade :)

Looking forward to our next trip to a race weekend!

Always a pleasure!
The weather forecast for this weekend is not too bleak, it seems...

Should be no problems at all to get the parts you need. I have a couple of sets spare (I don't like not being prepared) but have yet to break them even in some moster impacts in testing.

Parts came via DC Racing.

Broken Hub and carrier again! Twice!!
 

Well took the SP out to it's second meeting tonight. Broke The hub and carrier once again. This time I had a spare with me. However the following race, I was in a collision at the end of the straight and had it break again, along with a lower wishbone.
I genuinely think this might be a weak point on the car, although anything would have broken with the last collision.
I hope there will be alloy hop-up parts available sometime soon.:drool:

Can you please post a pic of the broken part..... I am struggling to work out where you are breaking this.

I proved at the weekend that the car is near bullet proof, I'm sure we can cure your problem with a little more info!!

I am quite interested to see what it is myself. I haven't done the SP conversion yet but I would have thought the new hub arrangement is much stronger than the old knuckle and c-hub set up. If you are breaking the new hubs aswell then maybe the strength isn't as improved as i thought!
On a little side note, I am currently running the 10 degree c-hubs on my Lazer but does anyone know the equivalent angle on the SP? I am just trying to work out what the characteristic changes will be before I do the switch.;)

The options with the SP for castor are 10 and 7 deg.

Anybody who saw the way I was attacking the tripple at Oswestry will tell you I wasn't feeling the need to nurse the car at all ..... the SP is near built proof.

In the whole time I have been running the ZX5-SP I have only broken 2 front tower mounts (one of which was the earlier weaker type), a front tower and a shock top!!! The original SP tower mount, the tower and the shock top were due to a full speed head to head crash which would have (and did for the other car inquestion) destroy the whole front end ...... the front hub assemblies have not suffered at all even in that crash.

Here's a pic of the damage.

Although it sickens me to consider AE parts on my Kyosho, apparently B44 arms, hubs and carriers will fit onto the ZX-5 SP without much modification, while retaining the geometry. I am trying to find out if this requires a change to AE CVD's and wheels though. If anyone has further details please post!
Since Everyone is sold out of these parts (LA254), I suspect that I'm not the only one breaking them.

Or no-one else is breaking them...
Other than a chassis (!!) my zx5 has been superbly unbreakable:thumbsup:

At the risk of sounding rude how the hell are you breaking them like that? Surely the knuckle would break first. Looking at the damage the only thing I can think of is the car landing heavily on the face of the wheel ..... not sure how that would come about though.
It looks like the whole load has gone into forcing the lower part of the hub inboard towards the centre line of the car. That's just a plain odd landing.

Can you please describe how it actually happens, the accidents that is?

I have a few sets of those parts spare as I stocked up on all suspension parts with my first ZX5-SP and have used nothing much to date as I've said, if you get really stuck then I'd post a set out to you.

As for the AE stuff I believe that you do have to use the AE bearings and axles ... might be able to modify the drive hexs so you don't have to use AE wheels too though.

Although I managed to break a 7° caster hub carrier and a hub, I am pretty sure that it is NOT the fault of the part. The car had a very tough impact and the steering was under tension - something had to give way - definately not my super rugged Futaba BLS 451 Servo. I wonder if I will ever break these parts again. If so, I hope it will be the LEFT side next time...;)

To confirm another thing I once asked in the forum: The Cyclone D4 wheels are a perfect fit. With the yellow wheels mounted, the car looks at least 20 kph faster ;-)
One definite advantage seems to be the absence of the groove on the rear wheel, no place left to catch dirt...

After re reading my posts I realise that it might sound like I am being a little negative about the car. I am VERY happy with the car! It handles superbly and takes the jumps better I think than any of the other cars at my track.
The track is indoor, carpet and quite bumpy, while the parts in question are 1st gen SP parts, and I've seen how Kyosho had been very active in strengthening any flaws with the ZX-5.
Anyhow, the 1st one (Right) I broke was from taking off one of the jumps fast, but crooked, resulting in the car landing on top of the PVC track edge - so no sideways force.
The second one (Left), after obtaining spares during the week (cheap spares BTW:))was from glancing off the wall at the end of the straight - significant shearing forces going on with that one I think, but still was a bit surprised to see it break (rather than an arm).
The third (in the photo) was from traction rolling at the end of the straight, and then being hit full-on by a B44. Both cars broke the front and I think any car would not have survived that one.
Unfortunately it's about a month delay now for the part (perhaps they are already in process of re-moulding or something), so I am looking for a temporary fix so I don't miss the next meeting. I posted a fairly quick lap time despite having not raced for 20 odd years, so I am very happy performance-wise.

Thanks for the offer, Roger - I appreciate it mate. However I am going to soldier on racing tomorrow with a superglued set.
I have confidence that Kyosho will be looking at this and making it stronger than ever!

Cheers.

Hello,

which parts are the former "weaker" ones and which are the newer and stronger ones? Any part numbers? And another question: What ist the inner gear ratio of the ZX-5 SP?

Thanky and best regards from Germany,
Chris